


Behind the Mask

by SifaShep



Series: The Quarian and the Infiltrator [10]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Cotton Candy Fluff, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-04
Updated: 2015-10-04
Packaged: 2018-04-24 18:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4930687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SifaShep/pseuds/SifaShep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place 30+ years after the Reaper War. Tali reflects on her life on Rannoch and is still astounded at all the changes.</p><p>Remy Shepard/Tali vas Rannoch. FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Behind the Mask

“ _I want you to see what’s behind this damn mask…to feel your skin against mine…”  
(Tali, Mass Effect 2)_

The sound of the ocean waves came and went with the tide. The hiss of foam was a soft counterpart to the melody of the sea.

Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch smiled to herself. Her living room had a spectacular view of the night sky above the ocean. Stars twinkled overhead, peaceful as always. At last. The breeze stirred her long, dark hair and danced on her skin. Tali had never believed she’d feel those sensations on her body, not within her lifetime.

It wasn’t the first time she was happy to be proven wrong.

“Mother, it’s late and we’re going over to Kal'Ghera’s place. Will you be all right here?”

She smiled and glanced over her shoulder. Two of them, a Quarian male and a Human female, both dressed in environmental suits, but without the helmets. Tali went over to them and brought her hand to her son’s cheek. He flushed in embarrassment like a typical Quarian, but the smile was all Human.

Jona vas Rannoch, also known as Jonah Shepard. Madeline Shepard, known as ‘Maddie’. Both orphaned by the Reaper War, both adopted into her family. Tali loved them as if they were her own bone and blood.

“I will be fine, Jona. Your father should be coming home from Palaven soon.”

“All right, Mother. Please let us know when he’s here,” said Maddie. Her frown looked exactly like her father’s whenever he was upset.  _Like father, like daughter._

“I will. Give Kal'Reegar and Ghera my regards.”

“We will.  _Keelah se'lai_ , Mother.”

Tali chuckled and watched her children go down the inclined dirt path from their house. Soft lighting illuminated their way. Shepard checked it every night he was on Rannoch, ‘just in case’. She chuckled under her breath; it was just like him.

 _Thirty years. It has been quite an adventure._ Memories flashed across her mind: the sheer panic at the news that her fiance was missing among the London ruins. He’d survived by sheer luck and determination. Sitting by Shepard’s bedside for weeks while he lay in a coma, watching his eyes open and meet her gaze, hearing his pained-filled whisper,

“ _Keelah se'lai, Tali. Sorry I’m late_.”

They’d finally made a home on Rannoch, at the exact same spot from years ago. Tali hadn’t expected him to remember that promise, but the house overlooked the water, with a stunning view of the sunset. Her father Rael'Zorah had wanted this for her; his son-in-law made it happen.

“Look at all this, Father,” Tali whispered. “A home, grandchildren…I wish you could have met Remy while you were still alive. I think you would have liked him, no matter what Gerrel said. He’s a good man. I would have loved him even if he hadn’t saved the entire galaxy from the Reapers.”

A pair of strong arms encircled her waist, and she heard him chuckle in her ear. “I’m glad to hear that, Tali.”

She jumped in surprise. “You startled me. I can never understand how someone like you can move so quietly.”

“It comes from being an infiltrator,” he replied. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well, you need to make that up to me, then, Remy.”

She still called him 'Shepard’ when others were around, mostly out of habit. That was how everyone else saw him: the great Commander Shepard, first captain of the Normandy, now Human ambassador to the Quarian people. But here, in private, he was her husband and the man she loved.

Tali leaned her head against his shoulder. She marveled at the simple sensation of her hair against his skin. She drew her hand over his arm, reveling at the touch. Tali still wore her suit in public–it had become tradition on the homeworld–but when she was with him, she wasted no time in shedding it.

_No barriers between us. No masks to hide behind. No fear of dying just from a simple kiss._

She felt his hand slide over hers. Startled, she looked up into his intense blue eyes. His mouth quirked upwards into the slight smile she knew so well. His reddish hair was so fine that no one saw the strands of gray mixed within. She teased him about it, about how the great Commander Shepard was growing old. He took the humor with good grace. The man who cheated death twice deserved a bit of a reprieve.

“The children are at Kal'Reegar’s. Maddie wanted me to call her when you arrived.”

Shepard chuckled and shook his head. “She’s such a mother hen. I think she gets that from you, Tali.”

“I’m not that much of a worrier.”

“Yes, you are.” He brought up his omnitool. She heard him tap a quick message into it and send it. “There we go. Now, no one will disturb us.”

“Good. I want you all to myself tonight.”

He hugged her a little closer to him, so close that she could hear his heartbeat, strong and steady. “You’re so beautiful, Tali.”

She blushed, her light violet-gray skin turning a shade darker with embarrassment. He chuckled; when she blushed, she couldn’t hide it.

“You’re such a flatterer, Remy.”

“It’s the truth.” He reached up and brushed a strand of dark hair away from her face. She closed her eyes as he gently ran his fingertips down her high cheekbones and full lips. “I’m so lucky to be able to see you as you really are.”

He meant more than just physical looks. He knew  _her,_  all her quirks and fears and insecurities, all her nervous habits and deepest desires. In turn, she saw past the confident facade that was Commander Remy Shepard, hero of the Citadel, savior of the galaxy. Yes, he was strong-willed, but she had seen him at his best  _and_  his worst. Thirty years of life together and they were still strong.

Thirty years and she still craved his touch, still wanted him. She brushed her lips against his. “I love you.”

He gently steered her towards their bedroom, his soft whisper full of love and promise.

“ _Keelah se'lai,_  Tali.”

**Author's Note:**

> Jona vas Rannoch's parents were in the game. His father was the maintenance guy on Admiral Koris's ship (Shepard and Tali found him on Rannoch on their way to the AA guns in ME3). His mother was a researcher on board the Alarei (during Tali's loyalty mission in ME2)
> 
> Madeline Shepard is my OC, an orphan of the Reaper War, adopted by Shepard and Tali.


End file.
